The LIRR unions’ chief negotiator says he wants to make a deal with the MTA that would delay a possible July strike until after Labor Day – sparing Long Island’s summer tourism business and buying more time to negotiate a contract settlement.
Although the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it has yet to receive a formal proposal, an MTA source who spoke on condition of anonymity said earlier this week the agency would be interested in an agreement to stave off a potential walkout by Long Island Rail Road workers in about seven weeks that could strand 300,000 daily riders.
SMART Transportation Division Minnesota State Legislative Director Phillip Qualy reports that House File 3172, the Omnibus Supplemental Appropriations Bill containing the Minnesota Railroad Yard Lighting Bill, has been passed and signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton.
“The men and women in Minnesota and around the country that work in yard-switching operations should be able to see where they are walking. This is a great step forward and will become a model for many other states’ consideration,” SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich said.
Added Transportation Division National Legislative Director James Stem: “Phil Qualy and our Minnesota Legislative Board understand the needs of railroad workers. Congratulations to them on their great work on behalf of their members.”
“The legislative board would be remiss if we did not report to our membership that from the carrier’s testimony before the legislature, it is difficult not to conclude that while the railroads want to talk about safety, they do not want you to have yard lighting,” Qualy said. “We will see how the carriers react to enactment of the Railroad Yard Lighting law. Their actions will reveal management priorities and how corporate financial budgeting will be targeted.”
In summary, the new law puts in place the following provisions:
1.) Sets the AREMA (American Railway Engineering Maintenance of Way Association) policy as a minimum standard and guideline for future lighting of rail yards;
2.) Sets a maintenance standard that malfunctioning lighting must be repaired to Minnesota Electrical Code within 48 hours of first report to the carrier;
3.) Sets forth that annual reports from railroad carriers and railroad labor shall be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Transportation Freight Rail Office by Jan. 15. If there is any discrepancy between carrier and labor reports, MnDOT shall investigate and report the areas in question to the legislature, including what will be necessary to bring yards to the AREMA standard.
4.) Sets a standard for lighting review at locations where cars or locomotives are switched or inspected, or where trains are assembled or disassembled frequently.
5.) Prescribes that at any yard where hazardous material cars are switched, inspected, picked-up or set-out frequently, or 25 hazmat tank cars are placed in trains frequently, or any yard within two miles of a major refinery where hazmat is placed in a train, the yards must be lighted to the AREMA standard by Dec. 31, 2015.
“We can work with this state law,” Qualy said. “This should get our railroad yards in Minnesota lighted going forward in this decade. We deferred to the wisdom of the Minnesota Legislature and railroad labor has prevailed.”
Also contained in H.F. 3172 are statutes naming rail labor as participants in hazmat planning and training, the creation of three positions for MnDOT safety inspectors, and the “Minnesota Oil Spill Defense Act,” that will ensure public first responders are trained and equipped with fire and disaster equipment. MnDOT will also invest resources for grade-crossing improvements along high-density hazmat corridors.
Finally, H.F. 3172 appropriates transportation funding that has been traditionally spent on short-line rehabilitation projects to Class I railroad projects that will divert hazardous material away from population centers in western Minnesota.
House File 2881, the Railroad Crew Van provision, has also been signed into law and will strengthen our current crew-van statutes, Qualy said.
“With our second Railroad Crew Van law passed in Minnesota in four years, H.F. 2881 will raise standards for driver qualifications, carrier reporting of total hours of service, vehicle equipment standards and vehicle inspection requirements,” Qualy said. “We maintain our $5-million liability and $1-million uninsured and underinsured motorist provisions.”
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers’ Minnesota Legislative Director Dave Brown had been the primary advocate for H.F. 2881 – the Crew Van law. “It was good to work the BLET Director Brown as we remained focused on passage of these laws to the final day of the 2014 session. On behalf of our membership, I also want to thank Minnesota AFL-CIO Legislative Director Jennifer Schaubach, who was instrumental in finding a compromise for our yard-lighting legislation with an entrenched, obstinate, railroad lobby,” Qualy said.
The SMART TD Minnesota Legislative Board also, on the last day of the legislative session, worked with State Rep. Jason Metsa on the introduction of House File 3394, which would increase fines on carriers that intentionally block grade crossings. Qualy said train crews have reported that CN Railway train dispatchers continue to order train crews to not cut or open grade crossings. “Hopefully, they will discontinue these illegal directives,” Qualy added.
“The Minnesota Legislative Board extends its appreciation to all SMART-TD officers who testified before the legislature, our SMART TD National Legislative Office, SMART TD’s Iowa and North Dakota Legislative Boards, the officers of our BNSF, CN, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific general committees of adjustment, our political consultant Dean Mitchell of DFM Group, and our SMART TD designated legal counsel – along with Larry Mann – all of whom really stepped-up to assist us in these efforts. We are also grateful to all of our members who made telephone calls to assist in this effort.
“As SMART Transportation Division-represented employees, we are also Minnesotans first,” Qualy added. “With the close of this two-year legislative cycle, our SMART TD and Minnesota AFL-CIO Working Family Agenda has moved the safety and security of our membership forward in a positive and productive manner. Our state of Minnesota is doing well and we look forward to the election season with optimism.
“Please contribute to your Minnesota UTU PAC. Your political voice is an essential investment in your future. Each member’s small contribution makes one large voice for transportation labor. UTU PAC does not cost, it pays.”
The individuals above attended legislative hearings for, testified about, or worked in support of the passage of H.F. 3172, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phillip Qualy said. They are, from left, retired former Assistant State Legislative Director Dan Paradise (1614), Local President George Armstrong (650), Local Chairperson Randy Raskin (650), Minnesota AFL-CIO Legislative Director Jennifer Schaubach, Qualy, Local Legislative Rep. Wayne Newton (1000) and Local Legislative Rep. Matt LaBine (650). (Not pictured are member Mike Heffernan (650) and Political Consultant Dean Mitchell, DFM Research Group).
It is getting hotter throughout the country. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a National Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers. Each year, thousands of workers experience heat-related illnesses and many even die working in the heat. This is preventable. That is why we need your help in raising awareness about the issues and resources available from OSHA.
Learn more and find our educational and training resources to download free in both Spanish and English at www.osha.gov/heat.
OSHA’s smartphone application calculates the heat index based on your current location, gets a risk level, and provides recommendations to prevent heat illness. Join the 130,000 others taking steps to prevent illness and download the app today.
This year we are focusing on acclimatization, the physical change that the body undergoes to build tolerance to the heat. To acclimatize, workers should get used to hot environments by gradually increasing exposure by taking frequent breaks for water and rest in the shade. During a rapid change in excessively hot weather, even experienced workers need time to acclimatize.
OSHA has found that in recent years, the lack of acclimatization led to serious heat illness or death in 74 percent of OSHA citations. Heat illness prevention programs, which can help prevent illness and death, were absent or missing elements such as acclimatization or providing potable water. New and temporary workers are even more at risk for heat-related illnesses.
Please help spread the word however you can by Tweeting or posting on Facebook using #WaterRestShade (OSHA has sample posts in its new Social Media Toolkit), or by speaking and sharing resources with your friends, family, coworkers, employees, employers and community members.
Workers have the right to a safe workplace. The OSH Act protects workers who complain to their employer, OSHA, or other government agencies about unsafe or unhealthful working conditions or environmental problems.
If a worker has been punished or discriminated against for using his or her rights, such as raising health and safety concerns including those related to excessive heat, or filing a complaint, he or she must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days.
For other valuable worker protection information, such as Workers’ Rights, Employer Responsibilities, and other services OSHA offers, visit the OSHA Workers’ Page.
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo was interviewed Platts Energy Week host Boll Lovelace May 25 to discuss ongoing concerns about transporting crude oil by rail.
Platts Energy Week is an independent energy news and information program that airs weekly. The program provides a forum where prominent decision makers in government, industry and markets gather to provide information that their peers can use to help gauge opportunities and risks associated with energy investments and trading.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) mission is to ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient rail transportation of people and goods for a strong America, now and in the future. Unfortunately, the growth of our economy and population is outpacing our level of investment in the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure, creating a situation that, if left unresolved, could leave us less competitive and failing to meet the needs of the traveling public. As the investment gap for rail has been even more pronounced in recent decades, FRA is focused on strategically maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, expanding and improving the rail network to accommodate growing travel and freight demand, and providing leadership in national and regional system planning and development.
The GROW AMERICA Act supports this mission with predictable, dedicated investments that enhance safety and modernize our rail infrastructure to meet growing market demand, while promoting innovation and ensuring transparency and accountability. The Act will invest $19 billion over four years to improve rail safety and invest in a National High-Performance Rail System, as states and local communities need the certainty of sustained funding to make the transportation investments necessary to improve our infrastructure and support our economic growth. The Act also builds on current investments to vastly improve the system in areas ranging from Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation to enhancing flexibility in financing programs that will better enable the rehabilitation of aging infrastructure.
New Programs
Establishes New Amtrak Grants: Over many years, existing capital and operating programs have focused on maintaining the legacy rail system on an annual basis. The GROW AMERICA Act will establish the Current Passenger Rail Service grant program to provide a longer-term view toward ensuring existing passenger rail assets and services are maintained in good, working condition. The grants will be oriented around Amtrak’s main business lines, including the Northeast Corridor, State Corridors, Long-Distance Routes, and National Assets. (Section 9102)
Establishes Rail Service Improvement Program: Ridership on passenger rail is at an all-time high– last year a record 31.6 million passengers travelled on Amtrak. As the nation’s population is set grow by 100 million people by the year 2050, getting to a destination safely and without delay will become all the more critical. The GROW AMERICA Act will establish the Rail Service Improvement Program, which will provide competitive grants to drive development of high-performing passenger rail networks. This will include funding for the implementation of PTC— technology designed to stop trains to avert collisions— for commuter railroads, support for the mitigation of adverse impacts associated with rail operations in local communities, upgrades for short-line freight operations, and local and regional planning efforts. (Section 9102)
Forges New Partnerships through Regional Rail Development Authorities (RRDA): The nation requires seamless, intermodal transportation networks in order to move people and goods efficiently and effectively—and achieving that goal requires improved transportation-related coordination among federal, state, and local entities. To achieve these goals, the GROW AMERICA Act will authorize DOT to establish RRDAs in consultation with state governors. RRDAs will have the power to GROW AMERICA Act plan for and undertake regional corridor development activities and be an eligible recipient of certain grants. (Section 9201)
Changes to Existing Programs
Enhances the RRIF Program: The RRIF program makes financing available to acquire, improve, rehabilitate intermodal or rail equipment or facilities, refinance outstanding debt, or develop or establish new intermodal or railroad facilities. In an effort to make Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) more accessible to regional and short line railroads, the GROW AMERICA Act enhances the program by allowing FRA to subsidize some of the costs of these loans to borrowers. (Section 1403)
Revamps Amtrak Business and Capital Planning: In addition to restructuring Amtrak funding around lines of business, the GROW AMERICA Act requires Amtrak to engage in annual five-year operating and capital planning to focus on the long-term needs of its business lines. These plans will be developed with close FRA coordination, and will directly inform annual budget requests. Capital asset plans will describe investment priorities and implementation strategies and identify specific projects to address the backlog of state-of-good-repair needs, recapitalization/ongoing maintenance needs, upgrades to support service enhancements, and business initiatives with a defined return on investment. (Section 9103)
Advances Safety Research: Building on previous successes in safety risk reduction and improved safety culture, the GROW AMERICA Act authorizes additional funding for research and development projects. The funds will also be used to increase the domestic content of new rail vehicles and allow their safety performance to be tested at FRA’s facility. The funds will also expand research programs at universities, which will help address the urgent industry-wide need for qualified railroad professionals. (Section 9105)
Strengthens National, Regional, and State Plans: The GROW AMERICA Act further defines and provides requirements for a National Rail Development Plan and Regional Rail Development Plans. These plans are necessary to provide a long-range blueprint for proceeding with passenger and freight rail investments in a market-based, cost-effective manner. In addition, the Act revises the state rail plan requirements from previous legislation. (Sections 9301, 9302)
Implements Positive Train Control: To fully implement PTC, the backbone of the next generation of rail safety, the GROW AMERICA Act establishes clear milestones for PTC implementation, allows for the discretion to provide extensions beyond the current statutory implementation deadline of December 31, 2015, and assists publicly-funded commuter rail agencies to implement PTC systems, by providing $2.3 billion over four years for commuter railroads to support integration. (Section 9402)
Reforms Hours of Service Rules and Mitigates Noise Emissions: To improve the predictability of work schedules for railroad operating employees and prevent operator fatigue, the GROW AMERICA Act grants FRA full rulemaking authority to replace outdated hours-of-service laws with scientifically- based regulations. (Section 9403) Further, the Act grants FRA the authority to regulate noise emissions, currently a patchwork of incompatible standards, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency. (Section 9407)
To view the FRA’s Grow America briefing, click here.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe carried a record 206,000 units in a single week, more than any other railroad has ever done, CEO Carl Ice announced at a North Texas Commission luncheon recently.
And the Fort Worth-based railroad has carried 200,000 units or more six times already in 2014, putting BNSF on pace to shatter the record set in 2013.
Propelled by a soaring stock market, the median pay package for a CEO rose above eight figures for the first time last year. The head of a typical large public company earned a record $10.5 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from $9.6 million in 2012, according to an Associated Press/Equilar pay study.
Last year was the fourth straight that CEO compensation rose following a decline during the Great Recession. The median CEO pay package climbed more than 50 percent over that stretch. A chief executive now makes about 257 times the average worker’s salary, up sharply from 181 times in 2009.
SMART Transportation Division-represented trainmen and engineers employed by Delray Connecting Railroad have ratified a new five-year agreement by a unanimous vote, according to Vice President David Wier.
The agreement provides for annual wage increases, retroactive to April 1, 2013, with a back-pay lump sum; establishes $5 certification pay for conductors and remote-control operators; improves step-rate provisions with an 80 percent entry rate and 5 percent increases for each qualification of conductor, RCO and engineer, allowing new employees to reach a 95-percent rate within the first year of employment; provides an established rest day for extra board employees; increases carrier-matching contributions to 401(k) accounts to $1,500; provides for carryover of sick days; limits employee health and welfare contributions to 12 percent of plan costs and freezes co-pays and deductibles for the life of the contract; improves working conditions and preserves guaranteed extra boards.
Wier, who assisted with the negotiations, congratulates DCRR Acting General Chairperson Ralph “Bud” Bigelow (Local 1438) and negotiating committee member Rick Garcia for the exceptional effort put forth in bringing the members concerns to the bargaining table and negotiating an agreement with significant improvements in wages and working conditions.
Credentials for the delegates and alternate delegates attending the SMART Transportation Division Convention in San Diego, Calif., beginning June 30, have been mailed to the local delegate of record.
Upon receipt of these credentials by the delegate, action should be taken as soon as possible in obtaining the required signatures of the local president and secretary, affixing the local seal and providing the alternate delegate with his or her credential.
It will be necessary for the delegate or alternate delegate attending the Transportation Division Convention to present the properly executed credential upon arrival at registration in San Diego in order to allow seating of the delegate or alternate delegate.
It is getting hotter throughout the country. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a 
The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) mission is to ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient rail transportation of people and goods for a strong America, now and in the future. Unfortunately, the growth of our economy and population is outpacing our level of investment in the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure, creating a situation that, if left unresolved, could leave us less competitive and failing to meet the needs of the traveling public. As the investment gap for rail has been even more pronounced in recent decades, FRA is focused on strategically maintaining current rail services and infrastructure, expanding and improving the rail network to accommodate growing travel and freight demand, and providing leadership in national and regional system planning and development.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe carried a record 206,000 units in a single week, more than any other railroad has ever done, CEO Carl Ice announced at a North Texas Commission luncheon recently.
The full House will take up a $52 billion spending bill that would fund transportation and housing programs in fiscal 2015 as early as this month.
Credentials for the delegates and alternate delegates attending the SMART Transportation Division Convention in San Diego, Calif., beginning June 30, have been mailed to the local delegate of record.